December 2015

New Year’s Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It’s a time to reflect on the changes we want to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. I never made a New Year’s Resolutions list, it was enough to think about my goals. However, this year it happened. One cosy evening I was sipping wine with my husband, we were talking about our New Year’s goals and ended up with a list. Psychologists say we’re more likely to succeed if we break our resolution into smaller goals that are specific, measurable and time-based, so this is what we did. There is one resolution I want to share with you and talk more: love experiences rather than things.

Space is not something English houses could be proud of 🙂 My family home is very tiny so I embraced an attitude “quality over quantity”. I am trying to simplify our life while running a conscious and responsible household(reduce waste, shop locally, choose handmade and environmentally friendly items). When it comes to parenting I have few simple rules:

NO for promotional, mass-market toys and clothes. This type of toys/clothes encourages consumption (your child would always need another ball just because a hero from this bellowed cartoon is on it). Materialism is prevalent because the societal norms teach people to be consumers at a young age.

NO for plastic toys. I am trying to invest into higher quality and environmentally friendly wooden toys (Here is my post about wooden toys), buying second-hand saves a lot of money and is eco friendly, also, I love to make my own toys for the little one (here is the post about play kitchen).

YES for nature. I am raising my daughter close to nature (as much as it is possible when you live in a city) as it teaches empathy, compassion and connection. Click here for some outdoors acivities ideas!

And despite all my efforts I have to admit, that in this eco life journey I am not even a halfway through. I am reading loads of articles about green life and minimalistic approach, however Zero Wate Home was mind blowing. Watch this video:

Yes, her lifestyle is drastic and too big challenge for many of us, but looks like effortless for her. It’s a great source of inspiration. I have to admit, I love beautiful things and some of them makes me very happy, but as long as I follow the rule quality over quantity I’m allright. It is nice to have few special things in your home but why we create a clutter? It’s a waste of money which might be a great investment into experiences: ticket to cinema, theatre, zoo, holiday trip or weekend getaway… Create, learn, experience! This is one of our resolutions – buying less stuff, investing more to experiences.

Things you are keeping somewhere in the corner in your home and not using might be useful for other people. That’s why I did a big cleaning in my home before Christmas and donated things to the charity. Thinking about Christmas presents I realised – I don’t need anything. The best present is TIME we spend with our loved ones. Don’t take it for granted, appreciate it. I remember when I came back to Lithuania for a summer holiday and my best friend organised a weekend getaway for our families – it was just the best gift ever! I would never swap it for anything. I would swap it for more days together though!

People are buying things they don’t need all to feed their ego. You can drive an expensive vehicle but at the end of the day, it’s still just a car. You can buy a flashy watch, but in a reality, all it does is tell time. I’m not saying you should never reward a hard work with a new outfit and a night out, but our larger investments should go toward experiences that create lifelong memories rather than an item that will lose its “cool” factor within a few years (if it’s lucky). It’s time to stop swiping the cards every time we get paid and start thinking about the memories we could be making with just a little bit of extra savings and a roadmap. All the best in New Year!

Only one more sleep before Christmas. Clean home and all the presents under Christmas tree, cosy Christmas lights, and cinnamon candles. Two days ago we made gingerbread cookies and it was the last bit of my Christmas preparation. I must say that was an incredibly exciting activity for my little one and I was impressed with her skills – thank you play dough 😉 Making gingerbread cookies might be a lovely tradition and a quality time with your family. These cookies look lovely as a Christmas decoration (no need to buy from the shops) and could be a lovely gift.

And so it is. The most magical night of the year. While everyone is rushing, buying and baking it’s easy to loose the real Christmas spirit, peaceful joy and inner peace. It’s a pity we forget, that the most important is to appreciate moments rather than presents and there is nothing more important than time with your loved ones. Enjoy every minute, don’t be rushing. Think about the presents you already have 🙂 I think I already received the biggest present ever – my family 🙂 I wish you a very merry Christmas.